Syria's new govt promises 'free press' in country

Syria's minister of information in the country's transitional government told AFP he is working towards a free press and committed to "freedom of expression", after decades of tight control under the country's former rulers.

"We are working to consolidate freedoms of the press and expression that were severely restricted" in areas controlled by the former government of Bashar al-Assad, said the minister, Mohamed al-Omar, after Islamist-led rebels on December 8 ended more than five decades of rule by the Assad clan.

Omar is part of the interim administration installed in Damascus by the victorious rebel coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.


Syria's ruling Baath party and the Assad family dynasty heavily curtailed all aspects of daily life, including freedom of the press and expression with the media a tool of those in power.

"There was a heavy restriction on freedom of the press and expression under the regime which practised censorship. In the period to come we are working on the reconstruction of a media landscape that is free, objective and professional," Omar said during an interview with AFP on Tuesday.